


Encounters in the morning

by WannabeCreativeAuthor



Category: The Mighty Boosh (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 07:42:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10485765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WannabeCreativeAuthor/pseuds/WannabeCreativeAuthor
Summary: "The first time there was another man in the kitchen, Howard was confused. The words 'burglar' and 'help' shot through his head, but then what kind of criminal would casually be making coffee in his boxershorts and a T-Shirt?"Howard muses about Vince's nightly guests and things get complicated. Or not.





	

The first time there was another man in the kitchen, Howard was confused. The words 'burglar' and 'help' shot through his head, but then what kind of criminal would casually be making coffee in his boxershorts and a T-Shirt?

"Hi, I'm Paul", the not-burglar said.

"Howard", Howard said.

Paul put out two mugs, poured the coffee, picked up one in each hand and exited the kitchen. Howard stared after him until he disappeared in Vince's room.

It really shouldn't have come as a surprise to him. And it didn't. Sometimes he had wondered. And obviously he was fine with it. Absolutely fine.

So why did he feel something tugging at the edge of his consciousness, something important?

The next few encounters were the usual Camden girls, smudged eyeliner, colourful hair and all looking like they were in a band. Most of them he only saw once or twice.

Howard wondered what had become of Paul, he and Vince never discussed these 'guests'. He wasn't entirely sure why.

The second time there was another man in the kitchen, Howard took a closer look at him. He was tall, mouse-brown hair, entirely not the type Howard would've imagined Vince to go for. Not that he had imagined anything involving that sort of thing. Granted, his face was nice enough, but he sort of lacked the ... glam he was used to with the people surrounding Vince.

He was named Hugh and he stayed for three nights in a row. The third morning Howard caught a glimpse of them kissing in the doorway to Vince's room. He gazed away quickly and pretended to be busy with the kettle until he heard the door close. Vince had looked happy.

After Hugh there was a small gap where Vince made his own coffee. Howard wondered, but didn't particularly mind. Of course he never asked.

Their adventures continued like they had always done.

Then Howard's birthday rolled around and with it the disastrous party.

He had really hoped for a chance with the pencil case girl but kissing Vince on the roof under a full moon felt like a revelation. Of course then his brain chickened out. Somehow the thought of their relationship changing was too much for him. He had never been particularly good at dealing with change and Vince was the one person he had known practically forever. How could he put that on the line?

Up on the roof it had made sense, but back on the ground reality caught up with him.

It would only complicate matters.

Vince seemed fine, he told himself.

The pencil case girl, whose name was Rita, sadly was called to a family emergency when they had only been talking for an hour. Maybe she would visit the shop again.

The next morning Howard shuffled into the kitchen. He was tired but not hung over. The flat was in a right state, empty bottles and glasses everywhere. Naboo was still snoring on the sofa, Bollo had passed out on the carpet with confetti matted in his fur.

Lost in thought Howard started to prepare the coffee. When he heard the door to Vince's room creak open he braced himself for awkward conversation with the black-haired girl he had seen Vince talking to. But the figure in a colourful kimono and tousled black hair wasn't the girl.

"Morning Howard", Vince mumbled, not quite meeting Howard's eyes.

"Morning", Howard said. He could have sworn the girl had flirted heavily with Vince last night. For a moment the question was on the tip of his tongue, but then he thought better of it and handed Vince a mug instead.

"Thanks", Vince said, and it sounded like the beginning of a sentence but then his mouth closed again.

The party was never mentioned again. Except by Bollo and Naboo who both nursed a two-day hangover and tried to lessen their pain by recapping every single drink they'd had.

Life went on in the Nabootique. The usual herd of strange people and creatures paraded in and out. Everything seemed normal, as normal as it had ever been, but there were no more nightly guests.

Vince went out, but more often than not he returned early, unaccompanied. Howard worried but couldn't bring himself to raise the topic. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

One night Howard was still up late reading and listening to some jazz in the background.

When he heard a key in the lock he glanced at his watch. About three in the morning, a normal time for Vince.

Howard listened closely for a second voice, readying himself to dash to his room. There was none, just Vince's giggling as he apparently tried, and failed, to turn the key and let himself into the flat.

After about three minutes of scratching and stifled laughter Howard got up and opened the door. Vince almost fell into his arms and looked up at him in surprise. "'oward!", he slurred. Then, after realizing the volume of his own voice: "Shhhhh" and pressed a finger to his lips. In a more hushed, but nonetheless slurred, voice he continued: "Wha... what are you doin' 'ere?"

Howard tried to prop Vince up, who was clearly not willing to walk on his own anymore, and answered "Well, first off I live here."

Vince started giggling again "You're funny"

"Good party then I guess, eh?", Howard asked. He could smell fruity cocktails.

Vince leaned heavily on him, and Howard tried to steer them both towards the sofa. Once there, they collapsed down on it. Vince still leaned on Howard, nestling his head into the collarbone. Howard wasn't sure what to do, so he just sat there trying to move as little as possible.

Vince's eyes were closed, maybe he was asleep? No, he was mumbling something.

"What was that?", Howard asked.

"You' my frien' Howard, yea?"

"Yes, yes of course I'm your friend Vince", Howard's heart started pounding. He wasn't sure he liked the direction this was heading in.

"So you like me, righ'?"

A pause.

"Yes... yes I like you."

"Gooooooood", Vince slid down so his head was resting in Howard's lap and grinned a very broad grin up at him. "'cause I like you too", Vince hiccuped and giggled some more, then he continued "very, very, veeeeery much", he stretched his arms out to show Howard exactly how much. It seemed like a reasonable amount.

Howard smiled "That's nice, come on let's put you to bed. Can you walk?" Vince shook his head violently "Nooooooooo"

"You can't walk?"

"Noooo, 'wanna stay here with you", Vince had put his arms around Howard's waist and buried his face in his jumper. Howard's heart was in his throat. He gulped, and for lack of words he said nothing.

Vince had curled himself around him tightly, still wearing the pixie boots on the sofa. His top was a strange new fashion Howard didn't understand. But it looked nice on him.

After a while Howard cleared his throat "Uh... Vince?"

No answer.

"Vince?"

Howard moved him slightly by the shoulder so he could see his face. Vince was fast asleep. Howard exhaled.

Then he carefully tried to maneuver himself out of the embrace. He was about halfway out when he heard the creaking of a door. Naboo, in a striped nightshirt with matching nightcap, shuffled into the living room, stopped, looked, stared Howard right in the eye and said: "I saw nothing." With an unchanged facial expression he shuffled on towards the bathroom.

Finally Howard had untangled himself fully. Vince looked so peaceful. It reminded him of the days when they had slept next to each other on the floor of the zookeeper's hut. Or was that memory even real? Sometimes it seemed like a blur, like another life. The same people but different circumstances.

Howard shook his head, spread a blanket over Vince and tucked him in.

"Good night little man"

Then Howard went to bed himself but it took him a long time to drift off to dreamland.

The next morning, or better early afternoon, the sofa was empty when Howard entered the living room.

As usual he wandered into the kitchen for the daily dose of caffeine. Nobody there.

Since it was sunday and the Nabootique closed, he returned to the book from the evening before. Though he found concentrating harder.

Vince came home in the late evening. Apparently he had been out all day. He didn't say where and Howard didn't press the issue.

He acted normal so Howard tried his best to do so as well.

Days went by and Howard started to think it had been a weird dream, probably induced by too much cheese.

Then the day that changed his life came, or so he thought at least.

Howard Moon, soon world famous actor, starring in Jurgen Haabermaaster's newest movie!

Reality quickly caught up with him and so he returned to the Nabootique. Of course they laughed at him, but still he was home.

They even had a little celebration with cake and drinks.

Later that evening, when Naboo and Bollo had gone to bed, Vince and him were alone.

Howard didn't remember how they ended up on the roof, but here they were. Side by side, warm light glowing through the hatch into the night blue.

"So did you miss me?", he was surprised by the sound of his own voice ripping through the silence.

Vince looked at him quizzically. "Naboo hired someone to help with the shop, you saw him."

"That's not what I meant."

"'course we missed you. Even Bollo."

Howard nodded and stared into the distance. After a while he spoke again. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Did you miss me?"

"What are you on about?", Vince seemed annoyed.

"It's just a simple question."

"I told you we missed you."

"No, I mean just you."

"Just me?"

"Yeah."

"What do you want to hear?"

"Just an answer."

"Right", Vince seemed really wound up now.

"Maybe you want to hear that of course everything went to shit with The Tubes while you scampered off being a 'film star'? Or having to walk into the shop every morning without anyone asking why I was late and being greeted by that cheap copy with a false moustache? Or finding the first split ends in my hair since the Big Bleaching Desaster of 2003? How about starting a crimp and then realising you're not there? Everything being too noisy, too bright, too glittery without anyone to calm it down? How is that?", Vince's voice had gotten progressively louder but he refused to look at Howard, hiding his eyes under his fringe.

"Oh", was everything Howard managed to say. He hadn't coped without Vince terribly well either.

When had it all become so serious? He asked the question out loud.

"What?", Vince looked up now.

"When did all this change?", he rephrased, "You and me?"

"You know when.", it was odd to see Vince's face without even a hint of that cheeky grin. How he had missed that face.

"I don't."

"Really? You don't remember ditching me?"

Howard's heart skipped a beat.

"I thought you were fine, you told me I was crazy! And then there was this girl...", Howard trailed off. They never talked about these things. It felt strange and made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"There's always a girl.", Vince said. "Or a guy."

"See?"

"No, this is not what I mean. There are always people, they stay for a while and then they leave. It's like... a rule or something."

Howard was confused "What are you saying?"

"The stuff that's always happening. You know, the weirdos coming in here, or the ones we meet. They always leave. Some come back later, yeah, but it's never permanent."

Howard nodded, slowly catching on to what Vince tried to tell him. "The only thing that always stays the same are Naboo, Bollo, you and me.", he said "Quite poetic if you think about it"

"Please no dairy-based poems now."

"Ok... sooo...to come back to what you said earlier...", Howard left the end of the sentence hang in midair between them.

Vince looked at him, eyes glowing.

"What changed?", Howard asked. "We've always been like this, so what's new now?"

Vince shrugged "Don't know"

"Well, can't blame you, the power of the Moon kiss has claimed many an innocent heart."

"Shut up", Vince laughed. The cheeky grin was back.

Howard smiled.

Then Vince took his hand. "I'm glad you came back"

"I was only gone for two weeks"

Vince's touch felt so good.

"Yeah, but I didn't know that, did I?"

Howard shook his head slowly as their faces drifted towards eachother.

When their lips met he thought, maybe this wasn't making their relationship more complicated, but actually a hell of a lot easier.

He could almost taste fate in their kiss, this was how it was meant to be. Him and Vince.

The next morning the smell of coffee filled the small kitchen. Howard smiled when he picked up the two mugs. One black, the other with a lot of milk and sugar. Then he shuffled back to Vince's room where a figure with tousled black hair sat up, grinned at him sleepily and said: "Mornin' Howard"

"Morning Vince."

If this was their new morning routine, Howard thought, he would gladly get used to it.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to correct mistakes or beta this fic, please go ahead


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